Rethinking Civilization for the Social Age

The continuing global economic and political crisis should be wakeup call to the world. We need to rethink and rebuild many of the organizations and institutions that have served us well for decades, even centuries, but are no longer able. Many traditional economic and social pillars of the industrial age have come to the end of their life cycle. Yet, enabled by the digital revolution there is dramatic change occurring everywhere, from Cairo streets to Wall Street, from the lecture halls of our universities to the halls of government. How can we rethink our economy and society for the new age?

Don Tapscott is one of the world's leading thinkers about new new technology, new media and innovaiton in business and society. He is the author of 14 widely read books, most recently Macrowikinomics, and was recently chosen by the Thinkers50 organization as the 9th most important living business thinker in the world.

About the speaker

Don Tapscott will be giving the opening SXSW Interactive presentation, Rethinking Civilization for the Social Age on Friday March 9, at 2pm.
Following this session, Don will be signing his latest books at the SX Bookstore beginning at 3pm. Don is one of the world’s leading authorities on innovation, media, and the economic and social impact of technology and advises business and government leaders around the world. He has authored or co-authored 14 widely read books including the 1992 best seller Paradigm Shift. His 1995 hit The Digital Economy changed thinking around the world about the transformational nature of the Internet and two years later he defined the Net Generation and the “digital divide” in Growing Up Digital. His 2000 work, Digital Capital, introduced seminal ideas like “the business web” and was described by BusinessWeek as “pure enlightenment." Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything was the best selling management book in the United States in 2007 and translated into over 25 languages. The Economist called his newest work Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World a “Schumpeter-ian story of creative destruction” and the Huffington Post said the book is “nothing less than a game plan to fix a broken world.” Over 30 years he has introduced many ground-breaking concepts that are part of contemporary
understanding. In 2011, Don was re-named to the Thinkers50 Definitive List of the Top 50 Business Thinkers in the World, earning the ninth spot on the list. He was also a runner up as the World's Leading Thinker on Globalization and Macrowikinomics was runner up for The Best Business Book of the Last Two Years. He is a member of World Economic Forum and an Adjunct Professor of Management for the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. It is hard to imagine anyone who has been more prolific, profound and influential in explaining the digital revolution and it’s impact on the world